Marking Time - Info, Lyrics, Streaming Audio

Written during the seemingly interminable winter of 2012-2013, worked on it off and on until release in the seemingly never beginning winter of 2013-2014 (we got it eventually.)

The dark Saint Petersburg winters can really make you lethargic and listless. At some point you feel you're just going thru the motions to get to Spring. In fact, I originally had "Going Thru the Motions" in mind for a title/theme when I started working on this song. Went nowhere with it - ended up with this, which I think worked out better, and which I hope you will enjoy.

A couple of notes that might interest some: this is the first tune on which I ever attempted to play mandolin. Some of you can probably tell. Mandolins are nice but painful instruments, and this borrowed one was even more so than usual, having the narrowest neck I ever say on anything. Ow ow ow.

Credits:Banjo: Robert PalomoGuitar: Robert PalomoMandolin: Robert PalomoBass: Robert PalomoVocals: Robert PalomoRecorded at the Total Chaos Studio, Toksovo, RussiaRecorded and mixed by: one guess!

Instruments:

Banjo used on this tune is a 1924 Vega 5-string conversion, played without fingerpicks.

Guitar is a recent Martin D35

Mandolin is a very old Russian instrument with a "domra" type body and a custom mandolin neck added sometime in the 1990s. (Thanks to Anastasia Guseva for the loan of it!)

Bass is the GarageBand Upright Jazz Bass sample, played on a Korg keyboard.